The present invention relates generally to cooking apparatus for heating food items and, more particularly, to a rotary grill and method for grilling and heating food items such as hot dogs, sausages, metts and similar food items.
Conventional rotary grills used for heating hot dogs and similar food items include a series of parallel, elongated rollers that are mounted to rotate about respective horizontal axes relative to a housing of the rotary grill. The rollers are typically made of metal or other heat conductive material and are arranged to lie in a generally common plane within a grilling area of the rotary grill. The rollers may lie in a generally horizontal plane or, alternatively, may be arranged in an inclined plane that slopes upwardly from the front toward the rear of the housing. The rollers are spaced apart from each other a sufficient distance so that hot dogs or similar food items can be placed between and supported by adjacent pairs of the rollers. A drive mechanism, such as a motor-driven chain or similar drive mechanism, is connected to the rollers for rotating the rollers in contact with the hot dogs so that the hot dogs are evenly heated or grilled. Typically, the hot dogs are first grilled at an elevated temperature to thoroughly heat and cook the items and then the temperature of the rollers is reduced so that the hot dogs are maintained at a warm serving temperature.
Rotary grills are typically mounted on a counter top or other support surface near a point-of-sale so the consumer can view the hot dogs and other items being grilled. For example, a conventional rotary grill may have an inside depth of about fifteen (15) inches and support ten (10) heated rollers within its grilling area. The ten (10) rollers define nine (9) food receiving areas between adjacent pairs of the rollers so that the rotary grill has a capacity of between eighteen (18) and twenty-seven (27) hot dogs, depending on whether two (2) or three (3) hot dogs are placed side-by-side in each food receiving area.
Conventional rotary grills suffer from several drawbacks and shortcomings. For example, conventional rotary grills may be generally limited in their hot dog grilling, heating and holding capacity for a particular counter space of a vendor. The layout of the heated rollers in a conventional rotary grill design can also make it difficult for a vendor to safely reach hot dogs supported on the rear rollers. Additionally, the layout of the heated rollers does not assist the vendor in merchandising different food products since all of the food products are typically mixed within the same grilling area.
The present invention overcomes these known drawbacks and shortcomings of conventional rotary grills.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing and other shortcomings and drawbacks of rotary grills and methods of heating hot dogs and similar food items heretofore known. While the invention will be described in connection with certain embodiments, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the invention includes all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a multi-tier rotary grill includes heated rollers that are arranged in vertically spaced apart roller tiers, such as three (3) roller tiers by way of example, for grilling and heating hot dogs, sausages, metts and similar food items. The rollers are rotatably mounted at their opposite ends to a housing of the rotary grill and are spaced apart from each a sufficient distance so that hot dogs or other food items can be placed between and supported by adjacent pairs of the rollers in each respective roller tier.
The rollers in the multiple roller tiers lie in common respective planes that are substantially parallel to each other and may slope upwardly from the front to the back of the housing. Alternatively, the common planes may be horizontally disposed. Each roller tier may be staggered from the rear to the front of the rotary grill so that one or more rollers of one roller tier overlie one or more rollers of another roller tier. This allows the rotary grill of the present invention to support more rollers, and thus grill, heat and hold more hot dogs, as compared to conventional rotary grills of the same inside depth.
Each of the roller tiers has a pair of opposite brackets mounted to the housing of the rotary grill for supporting non-rotatable heating rods or elements in contact with inner surfaces of the rollers to heat the rollers to a predetermined temperature. The rollers rotate in contact with the hot dogs so that the hot dogs are evenly heated or grilled.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, each roller tier has a separate temperature control coupled to the heating rods or elements of each respective roller tier so that the temperature of the rollers in each roller tier is independently controllable relative to the temperature of the rollers in another roller tier. This allows one or more of the roller tiers to be set to a higher temperature to bring cold hot dogs up to temperature quickly while one or more other roller tiers can be set to a lower temperature to maintain proper serving temperatures.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, each roller tier has a separate drive chain and motor control so that rotation of the rollers in each respective roller tier is independently controllable relative to the rotation of the rollers in another roller tier. This allows one or more of the roller tiers to be turned off when not in use to provide cost efficient and safe use of the rotary grill.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof.